Silence Isn't Golden
by Arista Lycoris
Summary: Shirai has a curse that not only limits the emotions she can feel, but has taken away her ability to speak. So what happens when she ends up on the journey to reclaim Sakura's feathers and can't even speak with them? FyeXOC Silence is No Virtue: Rewrite
1. Chapter 1: All The Pretty Faces

"_You will be mine." he muttered, arm outstretched, fingers all but clawing at me, ready, willing, impatient. Nothing would stop him. Fingers brushed softly against my frozen form as he stretched, hoping to claim me as his own. "You cannot escape the mark. It will always be there!"

* * *

_

My eyes snapped open, greeted by the boring wooden ceiling. One would think dreams like that one would have left with my emotions all that time ago, but it seemed they were tied with what little feeling I had left. It was annoying, but wasn't everything? At the moment, yes, everything was annoying. From the barely rising sun to the cold wooden floor, to the soft blanket that fell away from my lean form as I pushed myself into a sitting position, to the dark strands of hair that fell messily into my face as it did every morning. Just like every morning I was subject to the effects of the most painful time of my life. I could not escape the past, not even in my sleep. Perhaps that was the reason I woke with the sun.

Just like every other morning, this one began with training. I couldn't let myself waste away, I had to be ready at all times. I _had_ to.

The sun barely climbed a fourth of the way into the sky, signaling midmorning, when I returned to my small cabin. After a quick shower I wandered out into the garden I had labored over for the last year or so. If I wanted breakfast, that was where I needed to get it. A light meal would be best; I needed to go into town later. Sell some of the herbs and spices I'd been growing as well buy what I could not care for myself.

The process was short, quick and mechanical. All I had to do was push away plant leaves and look for the fruits, to see if they were ripe. All that was edible would go toward my breakfast. Then it was onto the spices. Only a few moments later and I was entering my cabin once more, arms filled with fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, seasonings and more. Garden was probably the least destructive thing I was capable of and it entailed the killing of plants, bugs, clearing the land… hell I was probably only able to do it _because_ I could think of it as destructive.

No sooner had I dropped everything on the table than a crash sounded from the front yard. I tensed upon hearing a grunt or two, some annoyed or angry sounds. It wasn't so simple as a tree falling in the forest with someone around to hear it, no, someone was in the yard and they weren't happy. There were a few knives on the table, most utensils, the kind to spread butter or jam, cut through fleshy fruits, but because I was paranoid, one was always for real combat. I grabbed that one.

My steps were measured, careful and silent, like I was taught to keep them, as the door came into view, I pressed my back to the wall, carefully peering through the window. It was certainly not what I expected to see. In all honesty I would have thought the people to come to my front yard would have dispersed, or at least made an attempt to remain unseen, but that wasn't the case. Sprawled on my 'lawn' were four people, lying in a heap, still trying to untangle themselves from each other. Three were obviously male, one much younger than the other two and carrying a young girl that was either unconscious or dead. Perched atop the oldest, or at least the tallest one's head was a creature similar to a rabbit, but with a gemstone embedded in its forehead. Its huge grin was both unnatural and familiar.

I had barely opened the door a crack when it barreled forward; launching itself inside and I closed the door behind it. At least this… _thing_ was familiar; I had no knowledge of the people with it this time around.

The thing was either smart, or it had been told before hand what I wanted, or it could have been its unique ability to understand me when I said nothing. Its odd grin widened and the gemstone began to glow just as a circle opened above its head. Inside the purple tinted circle was none other than… a woman, older than myself, but not old or she didn't appear old. Her hair was black, eyes a deep crimson, her name: Yuuko, the Dimensional Witch. She met my glare with her usual, casual appearance. "It's good to see you again Shirai-san. How are you doing?" I continued to glare. Finally she sighed, slight annoyance tugging at her features. "Yes, I sent those people there. Mokona should be proof enough. However, I decided to be… nice for once. Two years ago you gave me your most precious belonging and that was not quite enough to get you what you wanted, was it? These people also wish to move from world to world, for very different reasons, but you get the idea. Even all their most precious items were not enough, if yours were included, the group of five, not including Mokona would be able to do just as you wished. I sent them to you and now you can either choose to join them or strand them here forever."

The fluff ball piped up, voicing my question. "Shirai-san wants to know why you decided to be nice!" Neither of us were surprised at the content of its question. Apparently one of its one hundred eight secret skills was: Extreme Understand of Shirai! Not that _that_ made any sense.

Yuuko paused for a moment, eyes flashing. "I simply felt generous."

"She doesn't believe you!" Mokona practically sang. It was quivering as though it were trying not to jump around and didn't want to disturb whatever spell had been cast to communicate across dimensions. "But she's going anyways!"

The woman nodded curtly. "Mokona, you will explain to the others." Then the line was cut, the circle disappeared and Mokona was bounding around my table, coming dangerously close to smashing my breakfast and stepping on the rather sharp knives. Taking it by the ear, I returned to the front yard, throwing the white ball of fluff at the group. I was almost of the opinion that the girl was dead, her eyes still hadn't open and she looked ridiculously pale.

Mokona landed on the tallest of the group. A man with short black hair, slightly tanned skin and beady red eyes. He was scowling, and slouching, but from the way he held himself I could tell that he was a fighter. He kept one side of his body clearer than the other, obviously ready to pull a nonexistent sword from its sheath. Yuuko must have taken that from him as payment. It seemed he wasn't used to its weight being gone just yet.

The second tallest seemed to be the exact opposite of the first. He was all smiles with short wavy blond hair. His clothes were proof he was from a much cooler climate than this one and as further proof he'd begun shedding his rather furry white coat. Even his clothing was a stark contrast to that of the other man. Blue and white to red and black. He carried a staff in one hand, it didn't look like he used it much, or not for fighting anyways, but what good would it be for anything else?

Lastly my eyes landed on the shortest boy, nothing more than a child really, as he clutched the unconscious or dead girl to his chest, his brown eyes stared back at me with a due amount of uncertainty. His hair was a medium chestnut, spiky but not messy, longer than the black haired male and shorter than the blonde's. The clothes he was wearing seemed to be made of similar material to that of the girl he was cradling. It was obvious from his crouched stance that he was a fighter, but his arms were lacking in any form of obvious muscle. He was an unbalanced fighter whom only fought with his feet. Strange.

They stared at me, probably feeling awkward about both the silence and landing unannounced on my property, but what both annoyed me and concerned them was an odd ball of white fluff. Mokona was jumping around needlessly, shouting happily and being very, very annoying. After getting everyone's attention, in the most annoying fashion, it bounded into my house again, yelling for the group to follow. They did and soon everyone was seating at my table, the blond still smiling, the tanned one still scowling and the boy looking around curiously, his arms still carefully encircling the possibly dead girl. I cleared away the fruits and other plants that I'd left on the table before taking a seat myself and giving Mokona a glare that sent it launching into an explanation. "This is Shirai-san! Yuuko sent us here to get her help! She'll be coming along with us! Yay!"

That damnable thing was too happy.

The blonde was the first to react, his smile never faltered, but his eyes opened to reveal yet another contradiction to the unhappy man seating next to him. "Hello, I'm Fye D. Flowright, these two are Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan. This is Kurorin."

I raised an eyebrow at the strange name, wondering why someone like the dark man would keep such a name. I didn't have to wonder long though; the man glared at the blond and shouted angrily, "Who the hell is that? It's Kurogane dammit!" Then he turned his angry glare to me and I simply stared back, waiting for another slew of angry words to leave his lips.

"Let's go!" Mokona shouted, jumping up and down on the table for a second more. It didn't really give anyone enough time to prepare before sprouting wings and swallowing us whole. I was the only one who arrived in the new world still conscious, but then I'd done this once before, so the shock to my mind and body was nowhere near as strong as it was to theirs.

Only a few moments passed before Kurogane's eyes snapped open, soon followed by Fye. Mokona sat atop my head, watching them with its odd grin; it's white fur standing out starkly against my blue-black hair, its happy expression the opposite of my own. No one commented on either the creature or its stance atop my head; instead they looked at Syaoran who had yet to regain consciousness but was still clutching the dead girl.

"Sakura's not dead Shirai-san!" Mokona all but sang, drawing unwanted attention and strange, yet confused looks to me. "She just lost her heart!" Wasn't that the same thing as being dead? "Her heard turned into feathers and we need to get them back!"

Almost as if talking about the subject was enough to rouse him, Syaoran jolted awake, holding the heartless but not-quite-dead-yet girl tighter as he took in his surroundings. The blonde smiles at him, commenting about something as Mokona leapt from my head and into Fye's arms. I tuned them out as I looked around us; the whole area seemed relatively destroyed, strange metal boxes on wheels were lying around, some upside down. Buildings made of plain gray stone stood high, as though reaching for the sky, but most important were the sounds of moving feet and the sense of dread that washed over everything, the swirling emotions told of battle soon to come. Someone was running somewhere, toward us… was this a warzone?

"You've got to get out of here!" someone shouted. I turned slightly to see a boy possibly around Syaoran's age running over to us. "This place is dangerous! There's going to be a battle!" I knew it.

People emerged from either side of the ditch we were situated in, one side wearing goggles and the other with ridiculous looking hair. What the hell kind of battle could take place between two groups of unarmed idiots on opposite sides of a rather large and deep ditch? The stranger ushered us behind a metal box and began talking. Apparently every person in this world had something called a Kudan and its strength depended on the strength of one's heart. It sounded pathetic and ridiculous, but if that's how it was, then that's how it was. Just as we ducked down behind the metal box, spheres of energy erupted from both sides of the ditch. The spheres seemed to come from their clenched fists; the power of Kudans?

Syaoran sprinted out into the open like a moron, chasing an odd looking feather. I knew immediately that one or both sides of the warring factions would mistake him for a member of the other and open fire. Half a second later the ones with odd hair began firing at him, but apparently some of them couldn't aim and a number of stray spheres came speeding toward us. We ducked just as a dark sphere encircled the area around the metal box, deflecting all the spheres into the dirt. When the smoke, dust and dirt finally cleared, we stood again, trying to see what was going on; Syaoran had grabbed the feather, but next to him, reaching his waist was a canine-like creature that seemed to be wrought from fire itself.

The stranger looked ecstatic for a moment and then a shout burst forth from his lips, "Uwah! He's got a Kudan! A top level one at that!" Then he turned, his beady black eyes shining with excitement. "You do too!" I what? "Wow!" What was he going on about? I found out the moment I turned back to see what was going on with the gangs and found myself face-to-face with… a giant wolf? With wings? The day was getting more and more annoying with every passing second. The creature dipped its massive hear at me and followed my gaze; the one gang had fled and what looked like the leader of the goggles group was standing near Syaoran, issuing a challenge. For a moment, I saw his eyes flicker to my Kudan and then screeching noises pierced the air, wailing sounding louder than necessary at an ungodly pitch and Goggles fled with the rest of his group.

No more than two moments later, a couple approached us; my Kudan disappeared as they drew closer, but I didn't let my guard down. They might not have appeared dangerous, but it wasn't like I could be caught unprepared.

The man spoke first, his tone relieved, "We finally found you!" no one said anything, opting to stare at him cautiously instead. "We knew you'd be coming so—" I tuned him out for the most part, only picking up a few key phrases. They apparently agreed to house us because they owed Yuuko a favor. I did manage to catch their names, not that I would use them. Arashi was the woman and Sorata was the man.

* * *

The married couple was speaking to the guys on the other side of the room, but I had decided to simply stare out the window and ignore them. I was here for my own reasons, I didn't need to get dragged into their messes, they didn't need to be dragged into mine. It was simple and the easiest way to keep it that simple was to keep them from getting too close. Apparently I was the only one that thought the same way.

No sooner had both Arashi and Sorata left than Kurorin was staring at me and refused to blink, it was a like a one sided staring contest between a child and an uncaring adult. I didn't look away, but I didn't make any attempt to keep from blinking and finally Mokona piped up. "Kuro-pyon! Why don't you just as Rai-chan what you want to ask!"

Since _when_ was I this _Rai-chan_? Demeaning nicknames such as that one were disgraceful and unwanted and for that very reason I swatted Mokona off the top of my head and cast it an icy glare. Kurogane's eyes followed the creature for a moment before returning to mine. "Do you talk?"

With a shake of my head, I glared at Mokona, the thing that could somehow understand what it was I wanted to say even though I myself could not speak. "Shirai-rai can't talk! Even I, the Great Mokona have never heard her voice!"

"But you understand her?" Fye mused, that smile still on his face, but he was obviously glancing over at me, the silent one in question. I just shrugged. Hell if I knew how the damn thing understood me. I didn't even know how a fluff ball could both talk and traverse dimensions with people in its stomach.

* * *

**A/N:** So I ended it a little earlier than in the previous version, changed her Kudan a little bit and made it a bit longer. I like this one much more than the original chapter one, especially since the first one gave her more emotion than she had through most of the rest. And there was that little bit about a necklace that was never brought up again ^^' Yeah, I took that out. I don't even remember what was supposed to be so important about that. So here's the beginning of the new and improved _Silence is No Virtue_, now named _Silence Isn't Golden._


	2. Chapter 2: Black and Blue

_ "I will have you!" he shouted, hands on my shoulders, nails digging mercilessly into my flesh. "You have no choice._

_ I slapped his hands away, sending him the iciest glare I could muster, one that would send any normal person flinching away from me. "I have every choice." I snarled._

_ "You will regret those words," he sneered, tone turning cruel, "they will be among your last. All you love; all you hold dear; I will turn it all against you."_

_ I continued to glare, refusing to back down, but not daring to challenge him. The greedy bastard wanted something I would never give him and yet he was still determined to obtain it in the only way he knew how: through the hard work and sacrifice of others.

* * *

_

My eyes snapped open for the second time in as many days and I turned my head slightly to stare out the window at the sun that was also waking from its slumber, bright rays barely surfacing over the horizon, or what I could see of the horizon with all those buildings in the way. I felt stiff and poorly rested, but that was to be expected from sleeping on the floor with my back against the wall. This was where that choice had gotten me; thrown into a group of untrustworthy strangers on an epic quest to regain some undead girl's heart. At least _I'd_ been the one to make that choice.

At the same time I heard hurried footsteps from outside, Kurogane's eyes opened and he glared at me, then the window and proceeded to watch the door like a guard dog. A few moments later and the door swung open, startling Syaoran and Mokona, but Fye also appeared to be awake. Sorata didn't seem to care that he'd woken the boy or the creature, instead he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Wake up! We have clothes for all of you!"

I glared at him, wondering why they would need to obtain clothing for _all_ of us. Surely my simple outfit was fine.

"Shirai-rai wants to know why!" Mokona mumbled happily but sleepily at the same time. "Can't she just wear what she's wearing now?"

Arashi stepped out from behind her husband, the dark haired woman was wearing a long skirt; I wouldn't put up with clothing such as that. She looked me over, taking in the simple black pants and boots, and the plain white shirt with only one long sleeve. "I think it would be better if you chose a shirt with two sleeves or none at all."

"She wants to see! Wants to see!" Mokona shouted happily, its smiling face next to my expressionless one, the thing just as annoying, if not more so, than it had been yesterday. Arashi nodded and motioned for me to follow her, so after leaving Mokona whining on the floor, I followed her into the other room. She removed a few things from the dresser and nodded once before leaving. She must have already figured out that I could not speak and was trying not to make a show of the fact that she could.

It didn't take me too long to decide on what I would wear, I'd never been picky about clothing or appearances, so long as my left arm wasn't out there for all to see. I quickly shrugged into a black t-shirt and pulled on a pair of blue jeans, then distractedly stared at the markings on my arm. Thin black lines twisted upon my pale skin like delicate vines… but it symbolized strength rather than any form of delicacy. I shook my head slightly, removing my glare from the markings, threw on a white dress shirt and left the room.

The other three were already dressed when I returned, all listening to Mokona whine about how he didn't get a new set of clothes for the new world. Obviously it was because he was a furball and didn't need clothes. Apparently I hadn't kept the thought to myself enough because the creature turned in my direction, still pouting and began to whine loudly. A moment later it jumped at me, but I'd seen the movement early enough to grab it by the ears and hold it at a distance before tossing to the other side of the room where it landed lightly on Syaoran's shoulder.

By the time we'd gotten out of the small house, Mokona was still trying to decide who it wanted to stand on. Sorata had followed us out, talking about how much he loved his wife. His mouth abruptly shut, lips still twisted into a smile and he handed Syaoran a small, but bulging frog shaped pouch. "Money for food." He explained.

"Why are you giving it to the brat?" Kurogane sounded relatively upset, but it was understandable, why would someone give money for food to the youngest of the group?

Sorata didn't miss a beat and simply replied, "He seems like the most level headed of you guys and she looks like she would stop eating if she could." He winked in my direction, probably trying to annoy me, enough so that my annoyance would show through my expressionless mask, but he failed. With a sigh he told the guy, "You should find a way to get her to lighten up."

Mokona opened his mouth to say something, but I sent him a glare that shut him up before even a squeak could escape those talkative lips. It did talk though, but not about anything unnecessary. Apparently, during one of the many times I had tuned the group out the previous day, Mokona had become able to sense Sakura's feathers by locking on to the unique magical signature they let off. So now Syaoran wanted to go find the one still remaining in this world and Kurogane immediately refused to help.

In an obvious decision to contradict the taller man, the smiling blonde offered his pathetic assistance. "As long as I don't get hurt, I'll help."

"Mokona will help too!" it shouted. "We won't go to another world until we've found all the feathers!" Since everyone else had given an answer, Syaoran turned to me, but of course he couldn't have just left me out of the conversation, no, it seemed everyone wanted to speak with the one who couldn't talk back. It only took a moment for Mokona to answer for me and thankfully it didn't lie out its fluff. "Shirai-rai doesn't care! She says that if it gets us out of here faster, she'll do what she can!" Not that there was much I could do.

"Thank you very much." He replied, speech ridiculously formal, it reminded me of my world for a moment, but I pushed the thought away and shrugged. My opinion on the whole issue was closer to Kurogane's: I would rather not get involved. However, there were things that I needed to accomplish and I couldn't do that stuck in this place.

A random, unintelligible sound escaped Kurogane's lips and he bolted off into the crowd of people surrounding us, leaving our group to stare after him in a due amount of confusion until a few seconds later Fye decided that: "He must have seen someone he recognized from his world and gone off to investigate!"

Not two seconds later Mokona did the same thing, flying off (who knew it could fly) without us. The other two seemed too confused to move for a moment, but I took off after the ball of fluff, easily avoiding most of the people in my way and rudely pushing past those I couldn't. Fye caught up moments later, but it wasn't like Mokona was going very fast and Syaoran trailed behind, apologizing for the lot of us.

The moment we came to a halt, I wanted to strangle the white creature. It hadn't sensed the feather, or anything useful for that matter, instead it had simply smelled food. Two waiters greeted us before I could leave and Fye was continuously blocking the door; I was stuck. Syaoran's jaw dropped when he saw the two of them and he stared in obvious shock for a moment before shouting, "Your Majesty!"

What the hell kind of king worked in a restaurant serving whoever the hell came in? The kind that didn't exist, obviously. However it still took the brunette boy a few moments to realize that these people were not the same ones from his home world, they just wore the same face and he sputtered out an apology. The dark haired one, though obviously confused, tried to pretend it never happened. "How many?"

"Four." Fye answered immediately, but he paused, a thoughtful look spreading across his features before he decided to correct himself. "Three and one animal." I frowned and held up two fingers. I was not going to eat in a place like this.

"She doesn't talk?" The second, sandy haired, waiter asked, his appearance almost worried.

"She can't." it was quite irksome that the one answering as though they'd known me for years was Fye rather than Mokona. I could have easily accepted Mokona answering in my stead, due to its one hundred eight secret skills or whatever nonsense it preferred to spout, but the blonde had known me for a few mere hours, not enough to go around telling people even the most obvious of facts. The dark haired waiter gave me an odd look, probably wondering what I, the all but emotionless female with an obvious attitude problem, was doing with these three, a happy blonde who could never stop smiling, a kid who tended to apologize too often and a thing. He was right to wonder. He didn't have the time to say anything though, since his friend was already leading us to a table. The moment we sat down, Fye gave me a funny look and said, "You really would stop eating if you could, wouldn't you Rai-chan?" there was a subtle seriousness in his voice, one he probably didn't think I would pick up on. "Get her something too! She hasn't eaten since yesterday at least!" I did not like the nickname or the obvious disregard for what I had earlier indicated.

Casting him yet another icy glare, I tapped Mokona, all but ordering the thing to speak for me once more. "Shirai-rai said don't bother! She's not hungry and won't eat anything." That's not what I said. The stupid creature was being much too conscious of others emotions. I didn't want to eat _here_ specifically, in a place like this… with people I didn't know making my food, no. Never.

The waiters returned soon after and actually cooked the food in front of us, odd as that was, but I still refused to eat, preferring to turn my attention to the window and what lay beyond it, eyes scanning for anything that stood out, anything potentially dangerous to me, anyone I might have recognized that I really didn't want to see, even if they weren't the same person.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement and on reflex my hand shot up, fingers closing tightly around… Fye's wrist. He was currently in the process of attempting to shove food down my throat and I was not amused. He was shocked enough that his blue eyes opened and smile faltered, mouth dropping into a confused 'o' for a fraction of a second. Mokona spoke up before I could break his wrist. "You shouldn't do that Fye! Shirai-rai is _really_ powerful and super scary when she's mad!" Food spewed from the creature's mouth, splattering all over the table, the farthest bit of the chewed mess landed about an inch away from me. Then the creature began to loudly _whine_ about being unable to eat the food that it just spit out. Fye was amused enough that he attempted to retract his hand, but was unable to do so until I decided to let go, only a moment later.

* * *

We found nothing that day, the food fiasco all that really happened and probably all that would ever happen at the rate we were going, but regardless we went out again the following day. We hadn't been out very long when a rather rushed and slightly panicked Arashi came running for us. She took a moment to catch her breath, but a second later she informed us of Syaoran's worst fear: Sakura had woken up and wandered off. No sooner had the words left the woman's mouth than the boy bolted down the street, obviously not knowing where to look, but planning on searching everywhere.

Go figure that Fye would come up with a plan to split up and go looking for the lost little princess. Kurogane agreed for some strange reason and Fye offered to go with me, but before the offer was completely out of his mouth, I turned on my heel and walked into the crowded marketplace nearby. I could handle something like this on my own; it wouldn't be a big deal, at all.

An hour had passed at the most and there was still no sign of the missing princess and I had searched rather thoroughly, wondering how cliché the scenario would end up and how many 'bad guys' I'd have to beat up to get her back, then hoping that wouldn't happen because I couldn't guarantee those who angered me would live; it was entirely out of my control. As I rounded another corner someone held out an arm to stop me. My first instinct was to take hold of that arm and throw the person to the ground, but I stopped myself, taking a look at the person's face first. It was Goggles.

"Hey, you were one of the people with Syaoran, weren't you?" I nodded faintly, wondering why this bastard decided to bother me when I was busy. "What's your name?" Did it matter? I remained silent for a few more moments, simply glaring into Goggle's blue eyes, waiting for him to realize that no, I could not speak. All was silent for a while; out of the corner of my eye I could see his little groupies exchanging confused or nervous looks before finally he asked. "Can you speak?" I shook my head slightly and watched, almost amused as his eyes widened for a moment, probably as he told himself he was an asshole for not realizing it earlier. "Someone get her something to write with."

As a gang member stepped forward with a pad of paper and an odd, fluffy, googly eyed pen thing, I realized the oddness of the situation. Without Mokona I shouldn't have been able to understand these guys, but I could and that meant they either spoke the language from my home world, or the one I'd spent the last two years on. Considering the odd way they phrased their sentences, I was going to assume the latter. Luckily, due to my speech impediment, I had learned a bit of writing in the last two years, at least enough to figure out how to spell my name in their odd characters. With the ridiculous pen unbefitting a gang member, I wrote my name down on the small pad of paper and handed it back, wondering if the writing would be the same in this world. I must have gotten lucky. "Nice to meet you, miss Shirai." I hadn't been called _that_ in a while. "I'm Shougo. What's all the rush about?"

He handed the little notepad back and I frowned, annoyed that I was being held up by this goggle wearing freak… wait, didn't Syaoran wear goggles around his neck? I guess he was a goggle wearing freak too. _The girl with us has disappeared and we can't find her_. That was al I wrote on the notepad before pushing it back at him and reenacting the scene with Fye earlier; turning on my heel and walking off.

"You shouldn't go that way! It's pretty dangerous down there!"

Of course, in my mind, dangerous linked to anyone who might possibly decide to kidnap Sakura for any reason whatsoever as well as a good fight. So I ignored Shougo's warning and headed down a set of stairs leading into a dark alcove. A set of footsteps and a few shouts behind me alerted me to Shougo's presence. Apparently people here had some amount of chivalry and were not willing to let a female be put in danger, willing or not. How annoying.

Smoke hung heavy in the air, not the kind that wafts up from burning wood, candles or scented incense, but the disgusting kind laced with tobacco that made my eyes water and sting painfully. A few of the people loitering in the alcove stopped speaking and looked up as I entered, but overall, I went largely unnoticed. Until I called forth my Kudan.

"Hey now, that's a little drastic." Shougo murmured from my right, the sound of a sigh hanging in his voice. He paused for a moment before calling out to the people, who were now watching us with guarded expressions. "She's looking for her friend, has anyone seen a young girl, with short, light brown hair?" No one said anything. "Alright then, we'll just be going now."

"I don't think so." Someone grunted. In the corner a large man, both in width and height, heaved himself out of a chair, looking at my Kudan appraisingly before his gaze wandered to me. "Comin' in here an' challengin' us? That's not a smart move little lady. Now yer gunna have ta pay for it."

He had his own Kudan, a strong looking one that appeared to be an armored elephant. Oh, lovely, it was salivating. Before Shougo could do anything to protect the 'damsel in distress' I stepped forward, my Kudan at my side as it growled at the elephant thing. There was no one to call "start" there was no set amount of time to wait before charging, there wouldn't be, not in a tacky brawl, so both our Kudan's charged at the same time, the elephant making an attempt to ram my wolf into the next century, but my wolf ten times faster than the charging beast, though not quite as physically powerful. I was wrong to think there was some rule that stated there could be no physical brawl between people as their Kudan's duked it out ten feet away and I figured that out when the asshole ran at me and threw a well aimed punch.

That was one of the worst mistakes he could ever have made. I was trained for combat, in fact, that was really all I was good for at the moment. Fighting had become my life two years ago, even if I didn't want it to be. My body pivoted to the left on reflex as my hand shot forward, taking hold of the man's wrist and pulling him forward before he was able to fully regain his balance. My left hand formed a fist and I punched, simple as that. His nose was crushed under the force of my knuckles, blood sprayed everywhere as he cried out in pain and stumbled backward. My knuckles stung, they would likely bruise, but I could ignore that pain for three years if necessary.

The man regained himself, glaring at me through a face coated in shiny red snot and stupidly came at me again. The broken nose was nothing more than a warning; what else would it have been? I could kill a man with my bare hands and think nothing of it. This time I dropped to the ground, swinging a leg out and tripping the man, but there wasn't enough room for him to be sent sprawling onto the floor, instead he found himself pressed against a wall, further damaging his nose. I wasn't so generous now, instead of letting him come to his senses on his own, I gripped his throat with one hand and pushed his face farther into the wall, squeezing.

His breath came in ragged gasps, eyes rolling into the back of his head and I wouldn't have let go, I shouldn't have let go, but Shougo pried my hand away from the man's neck. The only thing that saved _him_ was the simple fact that he was Syaoran's opponent, not mine. "I understand you're scared, but that's going too far!"

Scared? _Scared?_ ME! The man must have been out of his mind. I couldn't feel fear. Slapping his hand away from me I dismissed my Kudan and walked off, I needed to look for Sakura elsewhere.

* * *

**A/N: **Again I ended it a little earlier than in the original, but I added more detail to the fight scene, not much, considering it's not actually much of a fight for Shirai ^^' Most of this was typed on my new laptop =D So forgive a few typos, I'm still not used to typing on these things . I prefer my desktop, but I have to admit that having a laptop is pretty awesome ^^'

I like how I'm seeing names I recognize when I get e-mails about alerts and whatnot. Thanks guys! ALso special thanks to FleurSuoh and Eternal Sun-Moon for reviewing.


	3. Japan Note

This will also go up in all my stories.

I'm sure many of you know what has recently befell Japan. The earthquake and tsunami caused mass destruction and stole many lives from us. Friend and family are suffering, even if they are not your own. Entire cities have been destroyed and there's even a threat of radiation from a damaged nuclear plant.

I, for one, have no money to donate even though I would dedicate entire paychecks to helping out those people in need. However! There is a way you can help even if you don't have money. There is a group on YouTube who filmed and posted a video of themselves standing in Los Angeles with signs reading: "Honk if you love Japan" and all manner of other supportive messages. Within about an hour (I think) they got enough honks to donate $600 to Japan _**AND**_ for every 1,000,000 views this video gets, they will donate another $600. Since I can't donate directly, it's all I can do to make this video known.

Here's the link: .com/watch?v=cciUXpITsu0

Thank you and please support Japan.

~ A. Lycoris


	4. Chapter 3: Attack

Of course, the moment I found the oddball group plus fluff again Syaoran decided to ask me a question with an answer that should have been more than obvious. "Did you find Sakura?"

I frowned, glaring at the boy unhappily. Did it look like I found her? Was she standing next to me? Behind me? Near me? Was her unconscious body slung haphazardly over one of my shoulders? No. Therefore I had obvious not found the runaway princess. Maybe she didn't even want to be found! Of course, out of all that the fluff only got: "If Shirai-rai had found her, she'd be here!" Of course it wouldn't tell him he was an oblivious bastard, a childish moron or any of the other insults I had lined up for those her bothered me, even if only slightly.

"Syaoran! SYAORAN!" the shout sounded from behind us, the voice vaguely familiar and as annoying as all sound. My eyes flickered past the brunette child, landing on the beady eyed kid from the other day. His child-like Kudan at his side, floating because it must have been too lazy to run. "Syaoran!" he continued to shout, until the boy in question finally turned around, a confused expression sliding into place. "That girl you were with yesterday! I saw her with the mowhawks!" Well that certainly answered a few questions and brought up a few more suspicions, implications and hazards; or I was being paranoid.

"What?" the kid sounded absolutely flabbergasted. "We've got to find her!"

"Shirai-rai wants to know where you last saw them!" Mokona shouted as it flew from Fye's arms to my shoulder, receiving a strange, but almost knowing look from the blonde. I, of course, ignored him.

"My Kudan has the ability to find people! Come on!" and he ran off. Apparently no one noticed that my demand had gone unanswered. A frown tugged at my lips, pulling the corners down as my annoyance began to show through the wretched curse, but what could I do? Beat the crap out of him? As helpful as it sounded, I doubted it would be appreciated, by either the kid or the people I was currently traveling with. Life sucked sometimes.

* * *

Shougo had found Sakura for us, or me, or whatever the hell he thought he found her for, I didn't care, all that really mattered was I didn't have to go gallivanting about the damn city looking for a princess that couldn't stay conscious for more than a few hours at a time. How freaking ridiculous was that! Then the stupid girl quite literally floated off a rather high metal contraption of some sort and began to fly, without a Kudan, without wings, she just started flying, eyes closed, arms spread, a small smile present on her features. She was completely oblivious to everything we'd gone through to find her. That was beyond infuriating. Nothing else happened. There was no massive fight between Shougo and Syaoran, just the stupid priness flying, falling and being caught by Syaoran in one of the most dramatic ways possible! What the hell was the point of all of that? I'll tell you, there wasn't one and there never would be.

Of course, she was unconscious the entire way back to Arashi's home and the boy had to carry her, but as soon as he laid her down in the cot, prepared for her to get some shut eye for the next few days, weeks, months, hopefully years, she opened her eyes and looked around in confusion. She didn't know where she was, who she was, who Syaoran was, nothing, she was an empty slate, except, apparently, for the image of a city in the desert. Talk about vague.

In order to provide the childish couple with some privacy, Fye ushered Kurogane and I out of the room, letting Syaoran get her all caught up without having to fill her in on our stories. Almost the moment I sat down, the blond draped his arms over my shoulder, placing himself in a position that might make any normal woman turn a fierce shade of red and proclaimed, "Rai-chan! I'm tired!"

With a scowl plastered to my features I pushed the fluff into Fye's face and let it speak for me again. "Shirai-rai says: go whine to someone who cares!" That was probably one of the only times the thing translated correctly. Word for word; amazing. I pushed away from the blonde, disdainful of the physical contact he seemed so ridiculously fond of.

Those kids needed to hurry up with their little conversation or I'd end up knocking this stupid blonde unconscious; an idea that sounded better and better the more I thought about it. At the rate he was going, the blonde wouldn't last long, but at least he was bothering Kurogane now.

* * *

Once again we were walking around town looking for that stupid feather I was beginning to think we'd never find. How could we even be sure the stupid creature had actually sensed the feather and not just someone's Kudan or something else? Unique magical signature my ass. It had just smelled food! Unfortunately, it seemed that I was the only one to come to that conclusion. So we continued our fruitless search for hours, until Masayoshi, the beady eyed kid from before, came running up to us, waving. No sooner had he offered his assistance than a giant metal bird swooped down from the skies and took hold of both the boy and the not-as-useless-but-still-useless Mokona.

I bolted, taking off after the creature; Mokona was necessary if I ever wanted to get off this blasted world and do what I needed to. However, the bird creature was much faster that I and soon was far out of sight. I wasn't the only one who had given chase though; incomprehensible shouts sounded behind me and I turned to see the other people that needed Mokona. Only now I had no idea what they were saying; granted whatever spewed from their lips when I _could_ understand them hadn't been important, so I had no reason to care this time and I didn't.

The moment I moved to continue on my way, Kurogane's hand came down roughly on my shoulder, forcing me to turn and nearly faceplant into a map while he and the other's proceeded to realize they didn't understand each other. Then they looked at me and began talking, probably hoping I'd understand one of them, but I didn't and they were met with another blank stare. They really should have been expecting that by now. I took a quick look at the map and pointed to a tower that seemed to be in the direction the Kudan had taken Mokona and went on my way, wondering if they were following behind me, but an annoyed grumble that could only have come from Kurogane let me know they were, indeed, following.

As we got closer to the tower, Syaoran and the others became understandable, at first fading in an out and finally it was like they were all speaking the same language again. When we arrived, we noticed Mokona and Masayoshi tied up and dangling from a part of the strange building. The fluff ball seemed to be having the time of its life, spinning around and _singing_ as though it weren't possible for the rope to break and send the thing plummeting to an untimely death.

A crowd of people surrounded it though, oddly enough and Syaoran stood in front of all of them, held up a paper and shouted, "Excuse me, does anyone know who wrote this?"

"I did."

And then I tuned them out. The building had caught my attention, the decorative 'tower' seeming more like a palace, ornate carvings could be seen in every open area, small statues erupted from the ground around it, the place was _detailed_, annoyingly so. Just like—a sharp pain seared through my mind, my left eye twitching slightly in pain, but nothing else happened to give away the sudden pain.

_ "How does it feel Shirai? To know you will ever be able to express anything other than hate, anger, disappointment? How does it feel to know all those you love will turn against you if they haven't already, to know that you are nothing. This is the price you will pay for not answering me, the price you will continue to pay for the rest of your life, unless you change your mind. If it's even possible."_

_ He walked in circles around me, eyes wandering to wherever he pleased as he continued to speak. "You have become the ultimate soldier." Hatred filled me, fiercer than anything had ever been, rage boiling over, whispering in my ears, urging me to kill him, commanding me to attack. "You will never be anything else. There is nothing else for you. No place to avoid the hatred, nowhere to go. You have nothing because you __**are**__ nothing."_

_**BOOM!**_

I blinked once, attention drawn from the familiar type of building to an explosion of smoke, debris falling to the ground. Syaoran let out a shout, "Fye-kun!"

So the idiot got blown up? That didn't quite sound right. My eyes narrowed in annoyance, waiting for that blond idiot to laugh something of that magnitude off. Sure enough a few moments later he did, smiling like nothing was wrong. He was like Mokona. Something was just wrong with this group in general.

"Primera! What are you… did you destroy part of our historic building?" Everyone, literally everyone and there were a lot of people, turned at the sound of the shout, all eyes landing on none other than Shougo, the annoying bastard that had decided to intervene before was doing it again. He just seemed to get in everyone's way, didn't he?

"But Shougo-kun! You never come and see me! So I was lonely! So I thought if I got Syaoran and his friends into my fan club you'd come by more often to visit them and I could see you!" That damned woman's voice was annoying, too pitchy and needy, she sounded like she couldn't _live_ without the bastard. I hated pathetic women like that; but whether it was me hating them or the mark on my arm, I wasn't sure. I hated everything now, didn't I?

Mokona's eyes opened wide, a stupid sounding shout pushing past furry lips, gaining attention from Kurogane and Syaoran. At the same time Shougo claimed he'd been working and once again I tuned the world out. I didn't care about who liked who and what they were doing, it had nothing to do with me, just like Sakura's feathers had nothing to do with me. It was annoying to just think that I would be stuck here, on this infuriating world waiting for something to be found so that we could leave.

Syaoran stood facing Shougo, their stances obviously ready for battle, Kudans appearing at their sides. I let out a silent sigh as I refrained from calling forth my own and resigned myself to spectatorship, all the while attempting to ignore Fye, Mokona, Primera and Masayoshi. It began like the battle between the two gangs, Syaoran held one arm steady and formed a red sphere of power that he shot at Shougo. From there… well Shougo's water attributed Kudan flooded the area Syaoran was standing in; by elemental means that would have been the end of it, we all know that water douses fire, it's common sense, but most don't take into consideration that when hot enough fire evaporates water and that's exactly what Syaoran's Kudan did. However Shougo's display of power didn't affect only a single controlled area, but rather everything in the vicinity. Those of us on higher ground were unaffected, but the base of the castle, tower thing shook violently when the torrent of water met it.

Debris fell and a panicked scream rent the air; everyone's attention moved from the battle moments later as Masayoshi's Kudan stepped out of a cloud of dirt and smoke, thirty times larger than it had previously been. Mouths dropped open in shock, but my expression remained the same, Fye merely smiled and Kurogane continued to look rather annoyed. "Oh!" Mokona shouted gleefully even though it hardly suited the dangerous situation, "The feather is in _this_ Kudan!" Well at least that meant we didn't have to continue searching for days on end.

Unfortunately it didn't seem like Masayoshi had any control over his now massive Kudan. The thing's _mouth_ became a bloody cannon, shooting some kind of stream of power out every few seconds, destroying everything in its path. All we could really do was watch as Kudans popped into existence, attempting to protect their feeble people as Masayoshi's went berserk. Syaoran was the first to run forth, despite Kurogane's muttered warnings. "How are you going to fight that big one? You can die."

"I won't die." The kid countered, expression rather serious. "I still have something I need to do." And then he was off, running after the giant. We didn't have the best view from where we stood, but from what it looked like, Syaoran attacked the Kudan's core and was repulsed, but that didn't stop him from trying again, this time burning Masayoshi's Kudan in the process. Then it began to shrink, epic battle over and relatively pathetic from a distance.

* * *

We followed Syaoran back to the house, all drenched because Syaoran's Kudan had started a fire and Shougo had used his Kudan to put it out. By the time we got inside, removed our shoes and dried off enough to walk through the house, Sakura was awake, but for some reason, she didn't know who Syaoran was. I let a frown worm its way onto my features, replacing the normally expressionless appearance with an annoyed one. Fye answered the unasked question. "The price he paid was Sakura-chan's memories of him." Because _that_ made perfect sense; taking something from Sakura as Syaoran's payment. The witch had probably worded it differently to make sense and suit her goals. Fye stepped closer to Syaoran as the boy left the room and began the introductions. "Sakura-chan, hello, I'm Fye D. Flowright and this is—"

"Kurogane." The taller man replied, not bother to let Fye embarrass him again.

"And this—"

But thankfully Kurogane cut him off once more, deciding that ridiculous nicknames were not needed when introducing either of us to the princess. "Shirai." Why was he still holding that magazine featuring Primera?

* * *

**A/N: -heavy sigh- The original version of this chapter jumped around so freaking much I barely knew what the hell was going on and I'M the one who WROTE it. Says a lot doesn't it? I hope this re-written version flows a bit more smoothly and I'm sorry it took so bloody long to get out, but there was issues with it being on my laptop and having no flashdrive and no internet on said laptop . It has nothing to do with that updating bug thing I've been hearing about ._.**

**Anyways, there main things that happened weren't much different, but I tried to make the transitions seem less ridiculous and I think I portrayed Shirai's lack of emotion a tad bit better in this one. As for the magazine bit at the end, I was looking at the manga for reference and noticed that Kurogane managed to keep Primera's magazine throughout the whole thing xD How weird is that! Anywas, new chapter up and I'm going to start on chapter four either later tonight or within the next two days.**

**Also, nevermind, the bug got me too ._. I finished this 3/26/07 but can't publish it Dx Fei Wong Reed is messing with the site ._. That's the only explanation!  
**

**-Arista Lycoris**


	5. Chapter 5: Nothing Left to Say

Finally, **finally! **We were all back in our own clothes, standing outside as the more annoying ones in our group wasted time bidding farewell to Arashi and Sorata. Now that the stupid feather had been acquired and returned to Sakura, we were going to get out of this ridiculously little world with all its confusing Kudans and gangs and people, along with anything else the freakish people here did; crazy celebrities for example. Kurogane, though he didn't show it, probably felt the same way I did about leaving this world: it should have happened sooner. Fye appeared ready to go as well, but Syaoran was still wasting time with pitiful farewells.

This time however, Sakura was awake, a small smile upon her face as she timidly looked from the imposing Kuro-rin to the flamboyant Fye; her gaze softened slightly when it landed on Syaoran even though she couldn't remember the boy, but apparently she still felt drawn to him, perhaps because he was closer to her age than the rest of us. It didn't really matter to me though, she was just as useless awake as she was unconscious. With no memories and no fighting capabilities all she could do was sit there and look pretty; how pathetic. Her eyes eventually drifted over to me, searching for something as she suddenly appeared uncomfortable. Whatever it was she may have been expecting from me, didn't come, my own eyes remained locked in an annoyed glare directed at nothing; until Fye draped his arms around my shoulders, placing his cheek against mine, "Shirai-rai! Are you making friend with Sakura-chan?"

My lips twisted into a grimace as my elbow pivoted toward his gut, but the blond managed to dance away before the blow could connect, that infuriating smile never leaving his face. Kurogane simply watched, looking as grumpy as ever while Syaoran finished his goodbyes. Arashi and Sorata smiles and waved as Mokona floated above us for a few seconds, then wings sprouted from its back and we were once again swallowed by its magic.

* * *

Mokona needed an upgrade, a checkup, or possibly a brain replacement. Once again it had dumped the group off without caring where, when or how they landed. Kurogane, Fye and Syaoran, quite honestly, ended up in a pile of entangled limbs with the desert princess landing neatly on top as though Mokona only really cared about her. I was deposited slightly to the left, to fall on a stack of crates filled with fruit; I managed to balance myself on the edge instead of knocking them all to the ground and scattering the fruit, but jumped down as soon as I was sure I wouldn't fall. Mokona had dropped us in the middle of a crowded street, not two feet from a rather large man who seemed more closely related to a gorilla than a human. His back was hunched, legs short, arms freakishly long and his nostrils flared like an angered animal. He didn't look too bright either.

"Who are these guys?" He asked, eyes taking in the group's disheveled appearance. As he spoke, he proved my theory about his lack of intelligence and reached out for Sakura, as if to grab her. He didn't get close though, the princess flinched away from him and Syaoran, having magically detangled himself from the group on the ground, kicked the overgrown oaf in the face, sending him flailing backward a few steps. Not two seconds later and the moron was reaching for me, because apparently I was closer and he wanted to have a hold on someone from the group. If he thought touching someone would get his questions answered then he was a fool, but if he thought he could drag me in for an interrogation of some kind, then he was a bigger one.

I sent the man a glare that stopped him in his tracks, something like pure hate rolling off of my person in waves. Without having to say anything, I let him know that touching me would be the last thing he ever did. His animalistic instincts must have kicked in because he reared back, retracting his hand as quickly as he could. It was probably the smartest thing he'd ever done.

It didn't seem like he was done causing trouble though. He stood up, like he was actually going to do something, but again, he didn't get the chance to do anything more than make a petty attempt at an intimidating appearance. This time though, any semblance of power was stripped away from his image. A small girl had appeared on top of a building and, while pointing at the ape-man, began to shout, "You'd better leave right now if you know what's good for you!" I would never have though a warning shouted from a rooftop by a small girl would have done anything, but it seemed like enough to scare the fool off. I couldn't be sure, but a look of disgust might have enveloped my features at the thought of being scared off by a mere child. Again, because I was closest, I was the one to be approached, this time by the child that had scared off the ape. "I haven't seen you guys around before, are you new?" If she'd never seen us before, could we be anything else? Since I couldn't speak and Mokona would completely ruin any amount of sarcasm, I kept it to myself and answered her question with nothing more than a simple nod. The girl smiled and held out her hand. "I'm Jun-Yang!"

My mouth remained shut and my hands at my sides as my green eyes narrowed in annoyance. Why would I shake hands with a child who happily introduced herself to a stranger. Did she have to common sense? What in her right mind led her to believe that I was a good person that _wouldn't_ do something to hurt her? Confusion seeped onto the child's features at my lack of verbal response and movement, but Fye decided to intervene before the girl could question me further. "Hello~! I'm Fye D. Flowright, that's Shirai-pii; unfortunately, she lost her voice a while back and can't speak at all. It makes her irritable when she can't respond, so don't be too upset with her, okay~?"

The blond had, stupidly, placed his hands on my shoulders when he intervened and even though he had to have felt me tense in aggravation, he didn't remove them. I _despised _being touched. Mokona, sensing the murderous intent in the air, plopped itself down on Fye's head and warned him in that giddy tone, "Shirai's going to hurt you if you don't let go, Fye~!"

"_Hai, hai!_" the blond said, still smiling as he let go of me and literally danced away. Something about those two and their sing-song voices was grating on my nerves more than usual and making my temper grow shorter and shorter with each passing second. "These people are Syaoran, Sakura-chan and Kuro-sama~!"

"It's Kurogane!"

The girl smiled once more before introducing herself for the second time. "I'm Jun-Yang, it's nice to meet you." Then she had to go and ruin that nice image she'd made for herself. "You all look strange." Her tone was rather insulting, to me at the very least and my eyes narrowed once more into an angry glare. Fye decided vocally that it was Kurogane who looked strange and thus provoked the taller male into a one-sided yelling match. At that moment, the girl, Jun-Yang, reached out and took hold of Sakura's wrist, dragging the princess off while shouting. "Come with me!"

I followed immediately, not because I particularly cared what the girl wanted, or where she was taking Sakura, but because it was the easiest way to obtain the information I wanted and as 'the perfect soldier' hesitation was something I couldn't afford to suffer through. I didn't need to know why the girl had picked Sakura out of all of us, though I suspected it was because she was the only one that appeared pathetic and wimpy in nature.

She led us to a large house that we assumed belonged to her family, except that it was empty. Either the girl was an orphan or everyone was out, but judging from the run down look of the place, it was probably the former. She had promptly sat down with Syaoran and Sakura and started talking about a group of people that were supposed to come save the people of this village from an evil tyrant. It sounded like something out of a storybook. It didn't take long for her shoulders to sag in depression. "So, I guess you're not the _Miteshu_… but I guess kids like you wouldn't be _Miteshu_ anyways…" She may have sounded upset, but I still glared at her; what would a twelve year old know about children? I was _not_ a child anymore and would not let some little brat call me otherwise.

My next look was directed at Mokona, who was sitting in Sakura's lap and the magical creature seemed to sense that it needed to speak for me. "Shirai-rai says you shouldn't be called her a kid. She's older than you and considered an adult in her home."

For a kid, she was snarkier and more self-righteous than she had any right to be. "maybe you should speak for yourself instead of making a toy do it for you."

I didn't have the time to express any amount of anger before Fye once again decided to intervene and prevent a homicide. "I told you ealier Jun-Yang-chan! Shii-pii can't speak. She lost her voice!" My eyes slowly drifted over to the blond, rage welling inside me. I couldn't even speak for myself, let alone express what few emotions I had left without being interrupted and pushed away. As if to emphasize that _I_ was at fault Fye turned to me, still smiling that damned smile. "Rai-pyon~! You shouldn't get angry over little things!"

Perhaps the rage would have diminished slightly if I had some kind of an outlet, but I didn't. I had no way of venting unless it involved tearing something to pieces in vicious training exercises. Again my attention was drawn back to the curse that covered my arm and how there was nothing I could do to remove it.

* * *

_"You still haven't figured it out, have you? As long as that curse is in effect, you are mine. Your voice has been taken from you, it is __**mine**_**. **_If you try to speak, you will hurt, that is the punishment for trying to use what is __**mine**__. Your emotions are no longer yours, but __**mine**__, but I was kind. I left you your rage. Everything will turn to rage and hatred, everything. No one will take you from me because you are __**mine**__. You cannot escape the curse and therefore, you cannot escape me."_

_ Chains rattled in the cell, my arms locked up to keep me from taking my rage out on anything else. What was supposed to be a simple show of gratitude had resulted in the destruction of most of a small town. People were hurt because I could not control myself. People would always be hurt because I could do nothing but hate._

_ "Have you changed your mind?" his arrogant voice wafted into the cell from the other side of thick, iron bars, arrogant expression never changing. I hated him. "have you decided to accept your fate yet? You are __**mine**__, you just have to realize it." My answer was simple. I spit in his face. The result was a hand coming down quickly, stinging pain enveloping my cheek, the skin likely bright red and irritated. "Foolish."_

* * *

Whether it was warrior's premonition or something else, I tensed and soon after noise erupted from outside, the walls and window frames shaking at the sudden onslaught of powerful wind. Kurogane looked up, glancing around the room in annoyance and discovered that he wasn't hearing things. "Wind?" He grumbled, pushing himself to his feet. "I'll go check it out."

It was strange for him to be so concerned over anything, too bad it didn't last. "No!" Jun-Yang shouted, standing up quickly and moving to stop the swordsman. "You can't go outside!"

"Huh?" Kurogane's lack of etiquette should have been amusing, but I was unable to be amused and even if I was, I was too preoccupied to notice that the tall man did not agree with the kid's statement. Though I didn't want to, I silently admitted she was right to keep all members of the group inside. Noise exploded from the roof and in a matter of seconds, pieces of the room began to fall only to be flung wildly about by the raging wind.

"It's the _Ryoshi!_"

Syaoran had moved to cover Sakura from flying debris and two moments later Fye shouted at me, but I was too busy knocking annoying pieces of away to pay too much attention. Apparently he was as worried as he could pretend to be. When the wind finally stopped, there was a large hole in the roof and the already messy house was a disaster, but it was too late to fix it up.

* * *

The next day, Kurogane and Fye were fixing the hole in the roof while Syaoran and Sakura went clothes shopping with Jun-Yang. They'd invited me to go along, but in all honesty, it was more dangerous to have me along than to leave me behind. While they were gone and the other two were preoccupied, I slipped out of the house, deciding it would be best for my sanity if I went on a little walk. I was careful to stay away from any of the natives, I didn't want to deal with anyone asking me a question, whether it be about where I was from or why my clothing appeared so strange. Unknowingly I had gripped my right arm and only the slight sting of pain from my nails digging into flesh alerted me to that fact; little spots of red stained the fabric before I let go and glare harshly at the cloth covering the mark I hated more than anything else, other than the one who cast it. The only way to remove the mark was to have _that man_ remove it, or to kill him. I was not strong enough to take the bastard to hell and that left me with one option; wait until he died. Perhaps I'd get lucky and there would be an uprising, resulting in his death, but luck was never on my side and it was something I'd always refused to bet on.

I doubted Mokona would return me to my own world on this epic little journey, the chances were slim to none, but at the very least it would keep the others on their toes. I couldn't be bothered to worry about where we'd end up next most of the time. It was only during these uncommon moments to myself that I let my mind wander as much as it could, even if my body couldn't relax; to always be prepared for the worst was another part of that ridiculous curse.

At some point, I lost track of time, not that it really mattered, considering I didn't have anything I needed to do at the moment. However, it meant that Fye came out to find me and find me he did, while I was sitting in a tree, staring out at nothing, letting my mind grasp the recent changes in my life. I glared down at him, waiting for him accompany that annoying smile with equally annoying words, but instead of telling me something about going back to the house, he simply stated, "That's a nasty little curse you have, Shirai-rai." My glare darkened, body tense as my mind raced through the short amount of time I'd spent with this group, wondering if there was ever a moment that my curse mark had been exposed for them to see.

When I could think of nothing, I jumped down from the tree and began to walk away, refusing to deal with the overly happy male any longer than necessary. He didn't need to know that I was cursed, there was nothing he could do for it with his magic power anyway. He followed me, making some unknown decision on his own as he continued to bother me about the mark. "Have you tried to remove it?" Hoping that answering would force him to leave me be sooner, I nodded in response. "And?" I glared at him again, annoyed. If the curse was still there then the outcome of my attempt should have been obvious.

"May I see the markings?" He asked, his blue eyes open, but something in them contradicted the smile on his face. I shook my head slightly and sped up, but still he continued to speak. "I supposed you already know how to rid yourself of them, then?" I nodded again, eyes staring straight ahead; maybe he'd shut up sooner if I didn't look at him and cursing Mokona for disappearing when I needed to threaten someone. "It's a shame that the curse blocks off who you really are. I'd love to know the real Shirii-puu." I stiffened at the ridiculous nickname and turned to glare at him, but just like before, he kept that stupid smile on his face. "If we land in your world, will you look for that person?"

I shook my head before I realized it, imagines of that bastard seeping into my mind like a poison. If I could, I probably would have shuddered in disgust. "Why?" Fye pressed, seemingly wanting more answers. "Are you unable to, or do you refuse to?" I held up a single finger, indicating that the first option was the correct one. I could not find that man and defeat him; I had no chance against him, I never had. "What if we help?" I sent him another glare, this time harsher than any of the previous ones. I did not want his help, or any help for that matter. It was my curse, it was my problem. "Ah, so you see it as a task for you and only you." I nodded again and sped up once more, my destination set. If I could get back to the house then I wouldn't have to deal with Fye, someone would tell him to shut up or he'd get distracted, and he should have been smart enough to know not to bring up my curse in front of the others, at least if he wanted to live.

Sure enough, as soon as I entered the house, with Fye close behind, Kurogane shouted in annoyance, "Stop annoying the hell out of her and get over here! Do some of the work!"

I looked up and sighed mentally. A whole day had gone by and yet Kurogane had only managed to get two boards nailed to the roof. A disapproving look ghosted over my face before I sat down and decided to think about something else, ignoring Fye as he ignored Kurogane's demanded and continued to ask me questions, but he'd smartly strayed from the subject of my curse and was idiotically inquiring about my favorite colors, as though I actually had them or could answer his questions. Maybe Kurogane should nail Fye's mouth shut rather than boards on the roof.

* * *

**A/N: **I know right! It's only been for-freaking-ever since the last update! =O

I'm going to try an update more often (yes, I know I've said that a million and one times) but I'm not going to make any promises. However, if a certain buddy of mine is as influential as she was today, then you might have another chapter up next week ;D

It all depends though.

Anyways. I hope you enjoyed it!


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